Egypt

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, claims one of the world’s oldest cultures, descending from an ancient civilization that emerged in the 10th millennium BCE.

Widespread Middle East unrest in 2011 loosed grievances against the 30-year autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted following a dramatic period of protest that became a watershed moment in the Arab Spring. This upheaval paved the way for the country’s first free parliamentary elections, in which the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was elected president. Subsequent protests against Morsi’s authoritarianism led to a 2013 military coup d’etat and the election of former general Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as president in 2014.

Learn more about Egypt. Scroll below to view our archive of articles and chronology of latest news.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 25, 2015

Egyptian citizens, finding few ways to express grievances with public officials, have turned to social media to air their complaints; disaffected have posted images of unsanitary hospital conditions, deteriorating streets and uncollected trash MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

Sinai Province, militant group affiliated with Islamic State claims it destroyed Egyptian naval vessel of northern coast of Sinai Peninsula, killing everyone on board; Egyptian officials say they did exchange gun fire, but no one was killed. MORE

Jul. 16, 2015

Editorial warns new counterterrorism law being sought by Egyptian authorities would worsen already oppressive police state and embolden extremists by depriving citizens of legitimate avenues to express grievances; criticizes American officials for ignoring Egypt's rights violations and failing to demand human rights protections in exchange for foreign aid; argues that in releasing Egypt from such requirements America has become complicit in Egypt's repression. MORE

Jul. 12, 2015

Jul. 6, 2015

Egyptian government under Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi likens negative news reporting on its handling of militant attacks to another form of warfare; cabinet includes provision in anti-terrorism bill that threatens two-year prison terms for journalists who contradict official death tolls. MORE

Jul. 3, 2015

Jul. 1, 2015

Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, responding to bombing attack that killed prosecutor Hisham Barakat, vows to introduce new laws speeding terrorism trials and sentences; move elicits worry from legal experts and human rights advocates, who are particularly concerned about large number who face capital sentences. MORE

Jun. 30, 2015

Top Egyptian prosecutor Hisham Barakat is killed in sophisticated bombing as he drives to work; is highest ranking official to be killed in violent insurgency since ouster of Pres Mohamed Morsi in 2013. MORE

Jun. 24, 2015

Egyptian television series The Jewish Quarter has shocked many in country with its sympathetic portrayal of Egyptian Jews and its depiction of their strong anti-Zionism; show follows Jewish family living in Cairo in 1948. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

Ahmed Mansour, Egyptian-British journalist from Al Jazeera TV network, is released by German authorities who detained him at request of Egyptian government; he is accused of torturing unidentified lawyer during 2011 uprising against former Egyptian Pres Hosni Mubarak. MORE

Jun. 22, 2015

Ahmed Mansour, Egyptian-British journalist working for Al Jazeera network, is being held in Germany pending court ruling on validity of Egyptian warrant for his arrest; Egyptian government has demanded arrest and extradition of several people since 2013 ouster of Pres Mohamed Morsi, but Mansour's arrest in Germany represents first time western government has complied. MORE

Jun. 21, 2015

Prominent Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour is detained in Germany in accordance with Egyptian arrest warrant, latest in series of legal entanglements between Al Jazeera and Egypt; Mansour has been sentenced in absentia in Egypt to 15 years in prison over allegations that he tortured lawyer in Tahrir Square in 2011. MORE

Jun. 21, 2015

Opening of border between Gaza and Egypt, along with rumors that Hamas has quietly been carrying out negotiations with Israel, underscore extent to which Hamas has been operating independently from Palestinian Authority in governing territory; Hamas' separate actions have raised concerns that it is undermining Palestinian unity, considered necessary by many to gaining statehood. MORE

Jun. 17, 2015

Egyptian court confirms death penalty for deposed Pres Mohamed Morsi of Muslim Brotherhood for his part in 2011 uprising against Pres Hosni Mubarak's rule; he is charged with conspiring with foreign powers and terrorist groups to commit espionage against Egypt. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

Saturday Profile of Mohammed Sawiri, who sells tea in Unknown Soldier Park in Gaza City; Sawiri was one of thousands of Palestinians who became relatively wealthy by transporting goods through tunnels under border between Gaza and Egypt, and later joined the large ranks of unemployed after Egypt cracked down on tunnels. MORE

Jun. 12, 2015

Egyptian police officer is convicted of type of manslaughter for killing poet and activist Shaimaa el-Sabbagh in January, and is sentenced to 15 years in prison; killing shocked and captivated public, due to her evident innocence of any crime. MORE

Jun. 11, 2015

Attack on Karnak Temple, tourist site in Luxor, Egypt, by suicide bomber and two gunmen week after skirmish near Giza pyramids displays brashness of Islamic militants determined to destroy Egyptian economy for sake of toppling Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. MORE

Jun. 10, 2015

Egyptian criminal court retrial of 73 defendants, charged for their roles in 2012 Port Said soccer riot that caused deaths of over 70 people and injured hundreds more, ends in sentencing of 11 people to death and prison terms to 40 others; riot was Egypt's worst-ever soccer disaster. MORE

Jun. 10, 2015

State Dept spokesman Jeff Rathke says United States officials will not meet with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood delegation visiting Washington; denies Egyptian government's meeting with American ambassador in Cairo to voice displeasure at Brotherhood's prospective meeting influenced decision. MORE

Jun. 8, 2015

Obama administration report shows Egypt is falling away from democracy, quashing freedom of expression and failing to hold its own security forces accountable for unlawful killings; concludes, however, that Egypt remains too important to national security to end $1.5 billion in aid sent there yearly; report highlights fraught history of United States' shifting views toward rapidly changing Egypt and tense contemporary relationship to it. MORE

Jun. 5, 2015

Egyptian Judge Anwar Gabri orders country's former Pres Hosni Muharak to again stand trial on murder charges in killing of protesters during 2011 uprising that led to his ouster; new trial will be Mubarak's third on same set of charges. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

Gunmen shoot and kill two Egyptian police officers in full daylight very close to the pyramids of Giza, a main tourist attraction; militant attacks on Egypt's security forces have become increasingly frequent, but none have been so close to such a heavily guarded tourism site; years of political turmoil have heavily impacted country's tourism industry, which has recently been on the rebound. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders Mahmoud Ghozlan and Abdul Rahman al-Barr are arrested in Cairo after evading police for almost two years. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Editorial criticizes United States and other nuclear powers for squandering United Nations disarmament conference in May; regrets dispute between Egypt and Israel that seemed to derail negotiations over weapons-free zone in the Middle East; notes deteriorating relations between US and Russia have stalled efforts to further reduce arsenals in both countries, making it more difficult to argue for restraint in smaller nuclear powers. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Egyptian authorities release Mohamed Soltan, American citizen who spent nearly two years in prison after being accused of partaking in Islamist protest against removal of Pres Mohamed Morsi in 2013; Soltan publicized details of hunger strike he began in 2014 through smuggled letters and was supported by human rights groups and Obama administration. MORE

May. 24, 2015

Egyptian court acquits 17 people who had been charged with illegally protesting after they witnessed police killing of poet Shaimaa el-Sabbagh during peaceful march in January. MORE

May. 19, 2015

Editorial deplores fact that Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, may be executed, act that would further inflame Islamists already incensed by relentless crackdown of Egyptian authorities on Muslim Brotherhood; notes that trial in which Morsi and 100 co-defendants were sentenced to death was sham; urges American government to display more concern about crackdown. MORE

May. 18, 2015

Egypt executes six men convicted of killing two military officers in skirmish at suspected bomb factory in Cairo in March 2014 and of belonging to ISIS affiliate Ansar Beit al-Maqdis; execution brings condemnation from Amnesty International. MORE

May. 17, 2015

Deposed Egyptian Pres Mohamed Morsi of Muslim Brotherhood, country's first freely elected leader, is sentenced to death, along with 100 others, for his part in 2011 prison break during revolt against Pres Hosni Mubarak; conviction is most recent sign of undoing of uprising that ended with Mubarak's ousting; sentence must still be approved by nation's top Sunni Muslim authority. MORE

May. 13, 2015

Evidence points to Egyptian Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's voice on two embarrassing recordings; he and his inner circle of generals are heard laughing at their Persian Gulf patrons, and manipulating the courts, news media and neighboring countries. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Egyptian Justice Min Mahfouz Saber resigns in face of public outcry after saying in TV interview that children of sanitation workers could not succeed as judges. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Journalist Mohamed Fahmy, naturalized Canadian who gave up Egyptian citizenship and is now facing terrorism charges in Egypt, files suit in Canada claiming that he and others were endangered by skewed priorities of his employer Al Jazeera. MORE

May. 10, 2015

Egyptian court reissues three-year sentence originally handed down to former Pres Hosni Mubarak in 2014 amid suggestions that hey may be released from prison; legal experts have argued that there is no justification for Mubarak's continued detention. MORE

Apr. 22, 2015

Egyptian court sentences deposed president Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in prison; he was ousted by military in 2013 and convicted of inciting street violence. MORE

Apr. 16, 2015

Bomb blast in Kafr el-Sheikh, Egypt, kills three military academy students in what appears to be latest attack by militants on security forces. MORE

Apr. 15, 2015

Egyptian court upholds decision by Interior Ministry banning Libyan student's return to Egypt because he is gay. MORE

Apr. 14, 2015

Study in journal mBio finds that strains of H5N1 avian flu in Egypt, which has surpassed Indonesia as country with most human cases of virus, carry mutations that may make it easier for it to attach to human airway cells or to reproduce there; results raise concerns that virus could rapidly adapt to human airway microenvironment. MORE

Apr. 13, 2015

Militants linked to the Islamic State carryout three separate attacks on security forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 12 people. MORE

Apr. 12, 2015

American citizen Mohamed Soltan is among nearly 40 people sentenced to life in prison in Egypt for protests against military ouster of Pres Mohamed Morsi in 2013. MORE

Apr. 6, 2015

Bomb kills police officer and wounds two civilians in affluent area of Cairo, raising fears that militants are targeting neighborhoods thought to be most secure; militant group Ajnad Misr claims responsibility for attack. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Islamic State militants attack two army checkpoints in Egypt, killing at least 15 people. MORE

Apr. 1, 2015

Pres Obama lifts weapons freeze against Egypt that he imposed after country's military overthrow in 2013, seeking to mend ties to regional ally amid burgeoning war in Middle East; in trade-off, he tells Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi he will support full $1.3 billion in yearly military aid Egypt traditionally gets. MORE

Apr. 1, 2015

Editorial welcomes some of Obama administration's sweeping changes to Egypt's military aid package, noting that it will give US more control over type and amount of aid Egypt receives; criticizes administration's decision to authorize delivery of items that were held back in protest of country's human rights record; suggests administration should have used aid as leverage to curb human rights abuse of Pres Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government. MORE

Mar. 31, 2015

Egyptian prosecutors bring criminal charges of demonstrating without permit against 17 people who came forward as witnesses to police shooting of poet Shaimaa el-Sabbagh during march to Tahrir Square. MORE

Mar. 27, 2015

Egypt says it is prepared to send troops into Yemen to fight Houthis in wake of strikes launched by Saudi-led coalition, signaling possible protracted ground war on tip of Arabian Peninsula. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Egyptian woman Sisa Abu Daooh reveals that she has been posing as man for 42 years in order to find work available only to men; revelation, coming at time when government has been cracking down on unconventional expressions of gender or sexuality, is greeted with curiosity and positive reactions from news media and officials. MORE

Mar. 25, 2015

Egypt’s Medical Forensics Authority dismisses spokesperson Hisham Abdel Hamid, days after he said in television interview that Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, poet and activist participating in January march to Tahrir Square, died from birdshot pellets fired by police because she too thin. MORE

Mar. 24, 2015

Agreement to fairly share water from Nile and peacefully resolve any related disputes is signed by Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, alleviating concerns raised by Ethiopia's massive hydro-electric dam project. MORE

Mar. 23, 2015

Spokesman for Egypt's medical examiner claims that Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, poet and activist who was killed by birdshot fired from police gun during march to Tahrir Square, died because she was so thin; asserts that someone with more body fat would have survived assault. MORE

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